GnatGoSplat Posted October 10, 2009 Report Share Posted October 10, 2009 It's a Pioneer AVH-P6800DVD w/AVIC-9DVD add-on navigation unit. I bought the HU in 2007, installed it in 2008, and just this week finally made it down to the paint store to get some paint that matches the original color so I could paint my dash bezel and finish it up. I procrastinate too much! I'm not sure how long it actually took to install, I worked on it anywhere from 30-minutes to a couple hours a day for 2-weeks or so. Pics didn't come out so great (way more bluish than real life), but you get the idea. Purely coincidentally, the aqua text Pioneer used matches the digital dash color perfectly. Navigation mode iPod in the center console iPod fits neatly into one of the cassette slots in the console because it's housed in a modified cassette case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted October 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2009 How it was installed:1. I cut out the stereo floor and part of the airbox with a Dremel, then rerouted the dash harness under the stereo. 2. I made a piece out of ABS to cover the hole in the airbox and siliconed it in with black RTV. 3. I made a new stereo floor out of ABS and a retainer (to hold the rear of the stereo down) which I screwed onto an existing post on the airbox. 4. I cut out a section on the upper dash pad for the defroster vent and patched it with a new piece made out of ABS, and also cut out part of the ceiling to give more room above. 5. I made a bracket out of sheetmetal. The rear of it slides into the retainer in the dash and the front bolts in with the original screws in the original screw locations. I messed up on drilling the upper holes a little. Ooops! 6. I took a donor bezel and cut out the opening. 7. I decreased the width and increased the height of the opening. I deliberately didn't decrease the width too much because I wanted the satin sides of the stereo bezel to show - it matches the design of the climate control and Driver Info System. Then I used my soldering iron to melt the plastic together. 8. Once the bezel was roughly melted together, it took a lot of sanding and filling with ABS paste (made by soaking ABS plastic pieces in MEK). Here it is in "rough" form. 9. Once everything is sanded, filled, and smoothed, I painted with SEM Dark Titanium. It's a pretty darn good match to the factory paint. I thought maybe modifying the airbox would reduce airflow to the left front vent and the defroster, but if it did, I didn't notice at all so it worked out really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrcuttymann Posted October 10, 2009 Report Share Posted October 10, 2009 Outstanding craftsmanship, you have got mad skills my man. Very nice, I love the paint job on your 89 too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted October 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2009 Outstanding craftsmanship, you have got mad skills my man. Very nice, I love the paint job on your 89 too. Thanks! The paint job is factory. They came 2-tone in 88-90. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake91 Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 NICE! now if only i had these skills LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 now that is a damn nice looking install !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 SHIT!! I was looking at that bezel in the first picture and marvelling at it, knowing they didn't come that big stock. A+++++ job man, you need to come around here more often! How about some new exterior pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 Damn Gnat!!! want to make me one? or... 5?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgethis Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 Very nice work man I was thinking, how do you upgrade the gps in it? I just have the tomtom that i use to hook to the cig lighter. I like the setup way better than what I have to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRONDOG442 Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 I have the same HU in my intrigue and I fuckin love it !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOT2B GM Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 Wow! Beautiful install! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteCarloDude Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 Wow, great install!! You wouldn't want to even know the rate that a shop would charge to do that!! How did you get your bits of ABS? And whats the MEK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted October 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 Very nice work man I was thinking, how do you upgrade the gps in it? I just have the tomtom that i use to hook to the cig lighter. I like the setup way better than what I have to work with. The GPS setup is designed to work with the HU. It's fully integrated and controlled by touchscreen, it even adds voice control to the HU. It probably would have been easier and cheaper to buy a HU with navigation built-in, but compared to the AVIC-Z3 I have in my truck, I like the setup in the Cutlass better because it's got a much faster iPod control and I love the entertainment screens (the big clock being one of them). The GPS unit itself is mounted in the trunk behind the wheel well and connected to the HU by an RGB/data cable. Wow, great install!! You wouldn't want to even know the rate that a shop would charge to do that!! How did you get your bits of ABS? And whats the MEK? Thanks Chris, I wonder how much a shop would charge to do something like this? Not that I'd ever have shelled out the cash! This was one of those things I've been wanting to do for a LONG time, but never had the balls to do. When I pulled it off successfully in my Silverado, I figured this was the same thing, just a little more involved. The ABS I used for thermo-welding the bezel together with a soldering iron were scraps from the bezel itself. The double-DIN hole is a lot bigger so there was plenty of scrap for that. The ABS I used as a filler were scraps from a sheet of textured black ABS I got from Parts Express. I took small chunks and shavings, put them in a jar, and soaked overnight in MEK. MEK = Methyl Ethyl Ketone, you can get it from Lowe's. It works awesome for solvent-welding ABS as well. I used those same sheets and MEK as a solvent weld to make those filler panels for the airbox and the defroster vent on the dash pad. The ABS plastic from the car itself can't be solvent welded or turned into a filler because GM uses ABS+WMP. Not sure what WMP means, but it seems to be a talc-like substance, probably used as a fire retarder. You could use ABS sheets and MEK to make some pretty interesting brackets and stuff. All you need to do is take 2 pieces of ABS, use a small hobby paintbrush to brush the edge with MEK, then hold the 2 parts together for less than 10-seconds and they'll stay together. I'm not sure how it takes to completely dry, but it's almost impossible to break two pieces apart after around 15-minutes or so. ABS from the housings of scrap electronics works as well if you don't want to buy ABS sheets. There ought to be plenty of scrap electronics with everybody getting rid of old CRT monitors and TV's! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 Do you still have the Sony deck that was in the car, with the EQ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted October 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 Do you still have the Sony deck that was in the car, with the EQ? Nope. Are you talking about the CDX-C90? I sold that about 7yrs ago. It was a really nice deck back in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 So the MEK is an adhesive then? Sounds interesting, I need to make a cubby for the center console in the Regal. I already have the textured ABS (from my days at Best Buy), so I'll just need to pick up some of that MEK. What does the package look like? What department? On the top of my head, this is something similar to what Best Buy would charge: $100 for DD DVD install $45/hour for labor. However, when I did custom work (usually weekend projects), I would require the car to be there the entire weekend. I would also cut the rates pretty low. BB would still make money (and we would be well over our budgets), and the customer would get a great deal. I probably would have charged $300 + materials for the install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted October 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 MEK isn't actually an adhesive, it's a solvent. It's a thin, runny liquid like lacquer thinner, but when brushed onto ABS, it turns the surface tacky. It looks exactly like this: http://www.mclendons.com/item.asp?sku=11019480 Lowe's carries the Klean Strip brand. I think it's cheaper at Lowe's than that link. It's in the paint department where all the thinners and other solvents are. Since it's a solvent weld, joints can be as strong as the plastic itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 Ahh... then it dries hard after you apply it. Nice!! Is there a certain ratio that you mix your ABS/MEK to, or just toss whatever together? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted October 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 No real ratio. If I'm making a filler paste, I just toss whatever together. Add more MEK, it gets runnier. As an adhesive, you don't need to mix anything, just brush it onto the edges you want to join. You can even just hold 2 parts together and dab a small paintbrush soaked in MEK at the gap between them. The MEK will run into the gap, fusing the parts together. In just seconds, they'll hold together on their own and the bond will harden in minutes. The ABS sheets used in car audio are particularly soft so they work exceptionally well and are super easy to cut with just a hacksaw, but I've had good luck with scrap ABS plastic from junk electronics too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRONDOG442 Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 MEK is methyl ethyl ketone is basically PVC pipe dressing. It smells great !!! But it will kill you if inhaled and is a suspected carcinogen !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted October 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 MEK is methyl ethyl ketone is basically PVC pipe dressing. It smells great !!! But it will kill you if inhaled and is a suspected carcinogen !! It smells, but it's no more dangerous than acetone (fingernail polish remover). That doesn't mean it's not potentially carcinogenic, but the gov't doesn't classify it as a known carcinogen. http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/methylet.html][/url]Cancer Risk: * No information on the carcinogenicity of methyl ethyl ketone in humans was located. * No studies were available on the carcinogenicity of methyl ethyl ketone by the oral or inhalation routes. In a dermal carcinogenicity study, skin tumors were not reported from methyl ethyl ketone exposure. (1,6) * EPA has classified methyl ethyl ketone as a Group D, not classifiable as to human carcinogenicity, based on a lack of data concerning carcinogenicity in humans and animals. (6) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRONDOG442 Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 If you have a MEK rich environment and breathe it will kill you, acetone is no longer used in nail polish remover for it is a now listed a carcinogen (in California) LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted October 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Darn good thing I don't live in California then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRONDOG442 Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 I feel the same way ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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